elephantmudfandomcom-20200214-history
Gods
Who & what are the Gods? Creatures far more powerful than Mortals exist in the Western Realms. Beings of such awesome power that they are rightly given the name Gods & worshiped by mortals. Whilst Clerics & Necromancers derive significant benefits from close devotion to a Deity, others may also revere a specific God & at times receive some minor blessing. To pick a God, you "dedicate yourself" & may may then "pray" to them. Clerics & Necromancers whose relationship with the Gods is the closest will nearly always be heard & answered, but for others whether or not your prayers will be heard is...up to the whim of the Gods. But beware, while you may pray to ANY God at any time, it is not wise to pray to those of an opposing nature to yours. For a follower of a Good God to pray to an Evil one would be to invite retribution. Even worse as each God has an implacable enemy, to pray to such a foe would be near suicidal. The choice of God is of utmost importance for Clerics & Necromancers as it will have a significant impact on their Miracles or Rituals. For others the Gods may seem more remote, but be assured that they watch & see all. It is possible to rededicate oneself to a different Deity, but this will earn the ire of the one being abandoned & you will not be able to rededicate back to that Deity for some time; a week if switching to an allied God, a fortnight to a non-opposed one, a month for an opposing Deity, & 3 months if you foolishly switched to your Gods personal enemy. The Gods, both the Divine, Neutral & Infernal, are listed below along with the effects of successful prayer, which lasts 30 minutes Note that Clerics, Necromancers, those carrying a Symbol & those with alignments close to or vastly different from their God will have other factors affecting the bonuses of their prayers... AURIA Alignment: Good Sphere: Life, Youth & Nurturing Enemy: Nephastus Description Auria has blessed the Realms with her benevolent love & care for as long as anyone can remember. Beloved of healers, children & parents she brings life, light & hope to the suffering, joy to the devout & wipes away sickness & disease. Auria was one of the only two Gods to survive the Night of Endless Tears, when the coming of the darker Deities spelt doom for her cherished friends. While it is not in Auria's nature to hate, the God Nephastus has her eternal enmity for striking down her beloved friend Themis. Clerics of Auria are healers & lifebringers. They resort to violence only when they must & rarely turn away the suffering, even when such a person is a foe, as long as there is a chance for redemption. Blessings BRANGWEN Alignment: Good Sphere: Battle, Courage & War Enemy: Sorban Description Brangwen is the laughing Warrior Queen, her red hair flying in the wind as she beats back the forces of Darkness. With her mace & shield, she is a staunch bulwark against the darker powers who would snuff out life & love from the world. Brangwen sees battle as the ultimate test of Good vs. Evil, spurning the more subtle politics of others in favour of a good, honest fight. She is thus a natural ally of Jeroth, although feels he fails to find the joy in combat, & despises Sorban the God of Butchery as he embodies all the aspects of combat that Brangwen looks down upon. For her the fight is all, but for Sorban the death of a foe is all the matters, no matter how achieved. Clerics of Brangwen are honest, straight-up experts in arms. They love life, & live for battle & the feeling of their blood racing through their veins. They are neither bloodthirsty nor cruel & will spare those they defeat as the joy is in the contest, not in enforcing their will on others. Brangwen is well known for her love of mead, & her followers likewise honour their Goddess with a raised tankard whenever possible. For some reason Dwarves seem especially fond of Brangwen, but her church is open to all who enjoy putting themselves in the front line of the battle between Good & Evil. Blessings BRIGIT Alignment: Neutral Sphere: Fire, Poetry & Passion Enemy: None Description This Goddess of is a force of nature, representing the impulsive spark of creative fire that burns in everyone's heart. As quick to as to anger, she is the passion that drives people to great highs & dark lows. As the well of creativity, she also is much beloved of artists, poets & musicians. Many a struggling soul has found their muse & created a masterpiece after a prayer to Brigit. it is also rumoured that at times Brigit will visit her most gifted followers in person, men & women alike, in her role as the Goddess of Passion. Like most of the Neutral Gods she has no real enemies & though she abhors the world Nephastus is trying to create & finds Jeroth quest for purity bizarre, equally she recognises the passion that drives both Gods & so feels some affinity to their drive, if not their goals. Followers of Brigit are bright flames in a dark night, drawing others to them with their infectious energy, honest humour & love of living. But one should not mistake their nature - the fire that provides warmth & light can just as easy burn & so it is with Her disciples. Druids, Rangers, Satyrs & Nymphs often find a kindred spirit in Brigit as in many ways she represents the irrepressible life force that they hold so dear. There are rumours she is the nebulous "Earth Goddess" held dear by many Fighters, though this is unconfirmed... Blessings CAITLIN Alignment: '''Good '''Sphere: '''Protection '''Enemy: '''Tyaa '''Description Goddess of Protection & Endurance, Caitlin is a quiet but powerful Goddess whose hand gently tips many a fight from behind the scenes. Unlike her Goodly peers in the Divine Pantheon, Caitlin takes a subtle role in combat, tipping the scales by improving her allies in ways that are often hard to see. She exemplifies preparation & careful planning, something that often puts her at odds with the rather headstrong Brangwen. Auria is much beloved of Caitlin, as she admires her dedication to the protection of the sick & helpless. Indeed it was Caitlin who shielded both Jeroth & Auria during the Night of Endless tears & prevented a total victory by the forces of Darkness. Jeroth & Caitlin are uneasy allies, however, partly because Protection was once Jeroths sphere which he abandoned in favour of something more direct. Thus Jeroth feels Caitlin is too passive, while Caitlin mourns Jeroths new vengeful nature. Caitlins Clergy are as quiet & respectful as their Goddess. They often enact change from behind the scenes & are excellent diplomats & organisers. They understand that sometimes one must don ones armour & fight for what is right, but equally that a fight avoided through negotiation is better than a fight won through force of arms. Caitlin is the natural enemy of Tyaa, the Goddess of Hurt, Pain & Torture. While Caitlin works hard to avoid conflict & injury, Tyaa enjoys pain for its own sake & loves nothing more than to bring suffering to the innocent. Both work more through their followers than directly & their maneuvers form a backdrop to much of what goes on in the world. Blessings JEROTH Alignment: '''Good '''Spheres: '''Faith, Justice & Purity '''Enemy: '''Sethis '''Description Jeroth stands for Justice, holding the Faith & the defence of the innocent. He can be kindly to his followers, but is quick to move to righteous fury when faced by those who needlesly harm others. He despises all Undead &, alongside Brangwen, leads the Good Gods in their fight against the forces of Evil. Jeroth was originally a God of Protection, & only with the combined strength of his indomitable defence combined with Auria's healing did the two of them survive the Night of Endless Tears. These events scarred him deeply, both physically & mentally, thus the once kindly protector of the weak now bears a more vengeful aspect along with a burning hatred of Evil. Sethis (the Goddess of Lies, Mischief & Deceit), whose treachery nearly destroyed all of Jeroths allies, has his eternal emnity. Clerics of Jeroth are pro-active hunters of Evil, with a special mission to wipe out creatures of Undeath. They are protective & caring, but swift to anger & the ideals of purity to which they devote themselves can at times seem intolerant. Nonetheless they are fundamentally motivated by doing what is right...protecting the weak & helpless! Blessings KARAK Alignment: '''Neutral '''Sphere: '''Craftsmanship '''Enemy: '''None '''Description Karak is the Smith of the Gods, the master forger who raised up the Mountains, carved out the deep caves at their roots, built the dwellings of the Gods in the Heavens & brought form from chaos to build the world. Karak represents stability, permanence & order, not justice in the way Jeroth seeks, but simply that things know their place & adhere to them. He is by no means a kindly God, caring little for the rights or wrongs of the world, but despite this does share an unlikely affinity with Brigit, & will often share his secrets with mortals. In this regard he is the patron of all craftsmen, smiths & builders, especially those who craft weapons & armour. He is also much admired by the Dwarves & Gnomes who are very much creatures of the Earth themselves & whose skills at forging are legendary. In addition Fighters who favour heavy armour are often drawn to Karak, seeking the protection of his craftsmen in battle. As mentioned one would expect Karak & Brigit to be opposite ends of a spectrum, but in fact there is some strange bond between them. Certainly Karak finds Brigit flighty & Brigit finds Karak dour, but on some level they both share a desire to watch mortals improve themselves. Karak has little time for the Good or Evil Gods, whom he finds too fixated on trying to change the world to meet their own philosophies rather than maintaining the status quo. Karak's followers tend to be slow to anger & equally slow to forgive or forget. They seem to share their His views about maintaining the status quo & react violently against any who would try to change things too dramatically. They hold little love for the wilds though, & would happily see forests razed & temples of good, honest stone raised to Him instead. In this a careful observer will notice a contradiction between their desire to maintain the existing & their desire to raise up new monuments, albeit monuments that are permanent. Each follower of Karak has their own response to this apparent paradox. Blessings MAWN Alignment: '''Neutral '''Sphere: '''Knowledge '''Enemy: '''None '''Description Desc here Blessings NEPHASTUS Alignment: '''Evil '''Sphere: '''Death '''Enemy: '''Auria '''Description Desc here Blessings RHIANNON Alignment: '''Neutral '''Sphere: '''Fate '''Enemy: '''None '''Description Desc here Blessings SETHIS Alignment: '''Evil '''Sphere: '''Deception '''Enemy: '''Jeroth '''Description Desc here Blessings SORBAN Alignment: '''Evil '''Sphere: '''Carnage '''Enemy: '''Brangwen '''Description Desc here Blessings TIERYN Alignment: '''Neutral '''Sphere: '''Time '''Enemy: '''None '''Description Desc here Blessings TYAA Alignment: Evil Spheres: Fear & Torture Enemy: Caitlin Description Goddess of Terror, Pain & Torture, Tyaa is the Dark Mistress of the Night, the shadow you at your back when alone & scared, the doom waiting to pounce. There are two distinct, though related, aspects to this Goddess. Firstly she represents terror, the creeping inescapable dread that something terrible is coming. Tyaa loves to drive people to the edge of madness, reducing even the bravest to a quivering wreck. Her other aspect is more direct, which is inflicting pain, suffering & torture. The agonies of her victims are endless as Tyaa knows how to keep her playthings alive, while pushing them to the very edge of death. Their minds give out before their bodies, at which point they are fed to her eternally ravenous pack of wolves. Tyaa has a particular hatred for Caitlin who is dedicated to protecting the weak & helpless, natural targets for Tyaa's malice. If Caitlin is the warmth that draws people together for mutual protection, Tyaa is the deadly cold that terrifies people into fleeing & then picking them off when they do. In this she & Sethis are natural allies, with Sethis undermining the bonds that hold Caitlins charges together, leaving easy pickings for the Mistress of the Night. Followers of Tyaa are cruel, wicked & without mercy. The death of an enemy is not enough for Tyaa; that death must be slow, agonising and prolongued. If it can be witnessed by her future victims to terrify them to the point of insensibility, so much the better. Necromancers find great affinity with her & she in turn helps improve their fearsome curses. Blessing of Tyaa Other Gods Many other Deities exist or once did in the Realms. Whether defeated & replaced in the case of the Clerical Gods, or exalted by other cultures there are many beings whose followers range from isolated cults to entire Races! Some say that these other names are merely aspects of their own Gods in forms more recognisable to foreigners, others that the pantheons are great & varied & in a perpetual state of war over tho will reign over aspects of reality. All that is certain is that they do have power & their followers are devout, dedicated & driven... Arioch: Raven God of the Nadir Asresus: Falcon God of the Nadir, depicted by followers of Arioch as inferior, without compassion or honour. Bane: God of Spite according to some Half-Orc Bandit... Eskil: Cleric God of War, He was either portrayed arrayed in silver platemail armour & carrying his trusty hammer 'Dohandir' or in torn leather & wielding a worn spiked mace. All images implied carefully controlled violence, a determined calm at the centre of the storm. He demanded his followers showed no fear of slaying those who deserved such harsh judgement. Eskil met his end during the Night of Endless Tears. Gytha: The Amazon Goddess of War, oft depicted with long, flowing hair with bones tied into it & wielding both a spear & bow with a disdainful smirk. Possibly an aspect of Brangwen. Iileyna: Goddess worshipped by the Sea Elves of the Andurin many millenia ago. Lloth: Demon Queen of the Drow, Lloth is cruelty &malice incarnate. Known to actively oppose other pantheons, her true nature is uncertain, but she is ancient, powerful & malignant indeed! Lythia: Cleric Goddess of Faith, slain during the Night of Endless Tears. Her large, expressive green eyes seemed hard & determined. White-robed & wielding a shining mace, she was beautiful but chaste, wild-haired & passionate yet controlled. Ogkma: The God of Death accoring to some. Possibly an incarnation of Nephastus or some previous incumbent of that position. Often depicted as a tall, wiry man ready to kill any weaker person, he is known to have worshippers & temples scattered across the Realms. Rehann: A deity worshipped by a few Clerics & Monks in Aldersford Suthis Cha: The Lizardmen of the Swamp make sacrifices to this being, a 4-armed Lizardman depicted brandishing both a large sword & skull. Themis: Cleric Goddess of Calm, killed by Nephastus during the Night of Endless Tears. Often shown in simple robes, arms outstretched & palms facing the Heavens, She possessed a voice like liquid honey & sent angels to watch over her beloved flock. Vaal: Wolf God of the Nadir Vaelith: Once the harsh Cleric God of Justice, oft depicted with a pair of golden scales in one hand & a sword in the other, Vaelith was killed during the Night of Endless Tears. Slick, jet-black hair fell to his shoulders & he was shown to favour simple chainmail armour over his intimidating physique. His eyes once flickered with blue & silver sparks, seeing into the souls of those before him. Vaprak the Destroyer: An entity worshipped by many cruel Trolls, it is unknown what his relationship to them or other Gods is. He seems to delight in suffering & pain, as well as conquest. __NOEDITSECTION__ __NONEWSECTIONLINK__